Courses tagged with "Information policy" (10)

Have you ever wondered about planets in other solar systems? Have you ever thought about the possibility of life elsewhere in the Universe? For the first time in human history, we know that planets around other stars not only exist, but are common!

Alien Worlds focuses on the search and characterization of planets orbiting other stars (called extrasolar planets or “exoplanets”). Over the course of nine modules, we will learn some of the techniques used to discover the thousands of known exoplanets and will discuss how we can use basic scientific tools to characterize the sizes, masses, compositions, and atmospheres of exoplanets. We will also learn about the diversity of stars in the Galaxy to understand how stellar properties affect exoplanet detection techniques and influence planetary formation and habitability.

In addition to the exploration of exoplanets, students in Alien Worlds will gain a basic understanding of light, gravity and motion, and be introduced to some of the most extreme life on planet Earth. We will hear from experts at the forefront of exoplanet science and interact with other participants and instructors through social media and online tools. Students will leave Alien Worlds with a better understanding of their place in the Universe and the skills to comprehend the wealth of new discoveries surrounding the countless worlds around distant stars.

Learn about the origin and evolution of life and the search for life beyond the Earth.

Get a sense of the universe's enormity and discover the infinitesimal portion of history occupied by human existence with this astronomy course. Instructors show you how scientists go about studying such a vast expanse of time and space by explaining topics like wave-particle duality and spectra sequence. They can also help you take on an in-depth examination of astronomical objects that include protostellar disks, black holes, neutron stars, the Jovian planets and more with lessons on the following topics:

The discovery of exoplanets is one of the greatest revolutions in modern astrophysics. Twenty years ago, we had no idea whether any of the countless stars out there beyond our solar system had planets or not.

Today, things are totally different. Over 1,000 planetary systems have been discovered. The universe is teeming with planets. And what strange planets they are - hot Jupiter-like planets skimming the surfaces of their stars, cold and lonely free-floating planets far from any star, planets made of diamond, planets with rain made of glass, super-Earths and even planets orbiting neutron stars. In this course, we’ll bring you up-to-date with the latest research on exoplanets, and how this research has revolutionised our understanding of the formation of solar systems like our own.

This course is designed for people who would like to get a deeper understanding of these mysteries than that offered by popular science articles and shows. You will need reasonable high-school level mathematics and physics to get the most out of this course.

This is the second of four ANUx courses which together make up the Australian National University's first year astrophysics program. It follows on from the introductory course on the Greatest Unsolved Mysteries of the Universe, and is followed by courses on the violent universe and on cosmology. These courses compromise the Astrophysics XSeries. Learn more about the XSeries program and register for all the courses in the series today!

This course covers the physics, concepts, theories, and models underlying the discipline of aerodynamics. A general theme is the technique of velocity field representation and modeling via source and vorticity fields, and via their sheet, filament, or point-singularity idealizations.

The intent is to instill an intuitive feel for aerodynamic flowfield behavior, and to provide the basis of aerodynamic force analysis, drag decomposition, flow interference estimation, and many other important applications. A few computational methods are covered, primarily to give additional insight into flow behavior, and to identify the primary aerodynamic forces on maneuvering aircraft. A short overview of flight dynamics is also presented.

Before your course starts, try the new edX Demo where you can explore the fun, interactive learning environment and virtual labs. Learn more.

FAQ

Is there a required textbook?
You do not need to buy a textbook. All material is included in the edX course and is viewable online. This includes a full textbook in PDF form. If you would like to buy a print copy of the textbook, a mail-order service will be provided.

Can I still register after the start date?
You can register at any time, but you will not get credit for any assignments that are past due.

How are grades assigned?
Grades are made out of four parts: simple, multiple-choice "Concept Questions " completed during lectures; weekly homework assignments; and two exams, one at the midpoint and one at the end of the course.

How does this course use video? Do I need to watch the lectures live?
Video lectures as well as worked problems will be available and you can watch these at your leisure. Homework assignments and exams, however, will have due dates.

Will the text of the lectures be available?
Yes, transcripts of the course will be made available.

Will the material be made available to anyone registered for this course?
Yes, all the material will be made available to all students.

What are the prerequisites?
The student is expected to be well-versed in basic mechanics, vector calculus, and basic differential equations. Good familiarity with basic fluid mechanics concepts (pressure, density, velocity, stress, etc.) is expected, similar to the content in 16.101x (however, 16.101x is not a requirement). If you do not know these subjects beforehand, following the class material will be extremely difficult. We do not check students for prerequisites, so you are certainly allowed to try.

Who can register for this course?
Unfortunately, learners from Iran, Sudan, Cuba and the Crimea region of Ukraine will not be able to register for this course at the present time. While edX has received a license from the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) to offer courses to learners from Iran and Sudan our license does not cover this course. Separately, EdX has applied for a license to offer courses to learners in the Crimea region of Ukraine, but we are awaiting a determination from OFAC on that application. We are deeply sorry the U.S. government has determined that we have to block these learners, and we are working diligently to rectify this situation as soon as possible.

Despite spectacular recent progress, there is still a lot we don't know about our universe. We don't know why the Big Bang happened. We don't know what most of the universe is made of. We don't know whether there is life in space. We don't know how planets form, how black holes get so big, or where the first stars have gone. This course will take you through nine of the greatest unsolved problems of modern astrophysics. We can't promise you the answers, but we will explain what we do and don't know, and give you an up-to-date understanding of current research. This course is designed for people who would like to get a deeper understanding of these mysteries than that offered by popular science articles and shows. 

This is the first of four ANUx courses which together make up the Australian National University's first year astrophysics program. It is followed by courses on exoplanets, on the violent universe, and on cosmology. These courses compromise the Astrophysics XSeries. Learn more about the XSeries program and register for all the courses in the series today!

A flow is called hypersonic if the Mach number is greater than 5. This means that the flow speed is more than five times the speed of sound. In air at room temperature, the speed of sound is around 340 m/s, so a Mach 5 flow would have a flow speed of 1.7 km/s or just over 6,000 km/h. When a rocket launches a satellite into earth orbit, when a probe enters the atmosphere of another planet or when an aircraft is propelled by a supersonic combustion ramjet engine (a scramjet), hypersonic flows are encountered. Hypersonics – from Shock Waves to Scramjets introduces the basic concepts associated with flight at speeds greater than Mach 5 and takes students to the stage where they can analyse the performance of a scramjet engine that might be used in a future access-to-space system.

Mechanics ReView is a second look at introductory Newtonian Mechanics. It will give you a unified overview of mechanics that will dramatically increase your problem-solving ability. It is open to all students who meet the prerequisites (see right), but is especially designed for teachers and students who want to improve their existing understanding of mechanics.

Newtonian mechanics is the study of how forces change the motion of objects. This course begins with force, and moves on to straight-line motion, momentum, mechanical energy, rotational motion, angular momentum, and harmonic oscillators. Optional units include planetary orbits and a unit whose problems require multiple concepts to be applied to obtain one solution.

NOTE: New Section “Problem-solving Pedagogy”

We have developed a special approach to organizing the physics content knowledge and for applying it when solving problems.  This approach is called “Modeling Applied to Problem Solving” and has been researched carefully and has proven effectiveness for improving students’ performance in a later physics course on Electricity and Magnetism.

If you are a teacher looking to improve your knowledge of mechanics, or to learn new approaches to teach your students, we encourage you to sign up in the special teacher section featuring a discussion forum for teachers to discuss teaching ideas and techniques related to the topics discussed in this course.  To join these discussions,  verify yourself as a teacher, and we will sign you up in the teacher forum.

Note that this forum is exclusively reserved for teachers, so please do not register if you are not a teacher.

Teachers in the United States, and especially in Massachusetts, can receive extra benefit from this course. We offer Professional Development Points (PDPs) at no charge to teachers in Massachusetts who complete our course. If you are in a different state, we instead offer Continuing Education Units through the American Association of Physics Teachers. There is a fee for this certificate.

Course Syllabus

Note: Taking this Course Involves Using Some Experimental Materials

The RELATE group that authors and administers this course is an education research group, dedicated to understanding and improving education, especially online.  We showed that 8.MReV generated slightly more conceptual learning than a conventionally taught on-campus course  - but we were unable to find exactly what caused this learning.   (So far this is the only published measurement of learning in a MOOC).  This summer we will be comparing learning from different types of online activities that  will be administerered to randomly assigned sub-groups of our students.  At certain points in the course, new vs. previously used sequences of activities will be assigned to different groups.  We will then use common questions to compare the amount learned. Which group receives the new activities will be switched so that neither group will have all new activities.

Our experimental protocol has been approved by the MIT Committee on Use of Human Subjects.  As part of this approval we have the obligation to inform you about these experiments and to assure you that:

• We will not divulge any information about you that may be identified as yours personally (e.g. a discussion post showing your user name). 
• The grade for obtaining a certificate will be adjusted downwards (from 60%) to compensate if one group has harder materials.

Note: By clicking on the registration button, you indicate that you understand that everyone who participates in this course is randomly assigned to one of the groups described above. 

Welcome, and we hope you will both learn from and enjoy this course.

FAQs

Is there a required textbook?

You do not need to buy a textbook. All material is included in this edX course and is viewable online. If you would like to use a textbook with the course (for example, as a reference), most calculus-level books are suitable. Introductory physics books by Young and Freedman, Halliday and Resnick, or Knight are all appropriate (and older editions are fine).

What if I take a vacation?

The course schedule is designed with this in mind! Course contents are released four weeks ahead of the deadline, so even if you have a four-week vacation, you do not need to miss any deadlines and can still complete all of the material.

Will I get a certficiate?

Yes! This course awards certificates to all who satisfactorily complete the required portion of the course.

How are grades assigned?

There are three parts of the course that are worth points: Checkpoint problems that are folded in with the reading, Homework problems that come at the end of each unit, and Quizzes that are at the end of every 1-2 units. Each is worth a varying number of points, and you will not have to do every problem.

The course consists of 11 required units and three optional units. You do not need to complete the optional units in order to receive a certificate.

There is no final exam.

The study of the night sky instilled wonder in our ancestors. Modern astronomy extends the human view to previously unexplored regions of space and time. In this course, you will gain an understanding of these discoveries through a focus on relativity—Einstein's fascinating and non-intuitive description of the physical world. By studying relativity and astronomy together, you will develop physical insight and quantitative skills, and you’ll regain a profound sense of wonder for the universe we call home.

FAQ

• What topics will the course cover?
  • Section One—Introduction
  • Section Two—3, 2, 1 … Launching the journey into spacetime
  • Section Three—Special relativity: from light to dark
  • Section Four—General relativity: from flat to curved

• Is there a required textbook?

  • No textbook is required. Notes will be posted weekly. A list of supplemental resources, including textbooks, will be provided.​​

• What are the learning outcomes of this course?

  • Explain the meaning and significance of the postulates of special and general relativity.

  • Discuss significant experimental tests of both special and general relativity.

  • Analyze paradoxes in special relativity.

  • Apply appropriate tools for problem solving in special relativity.

  • Describe astrophysical situations where the consequences of relativity qualitatively impact predictions and/or observations.

  • Describe daily situations where relativity makes a difference.

This is an introductory astronomy survey class that covers our understanding of the physical universe and its major constituents, including planetary systems, stars, galaxies, black holes, quasars, larger structures, and the universe as a whole. We will learn how modern astronomical observations and applications of physics we know from the planet Earth reveal the nature of these objects and explain their observed properties, and tell us how they form and evolve. We will also examine various cosmic phenomena, from variable or exploding stars to the expansion of the universe and the evidence for dark matter, dark energy, and the big bang. The universe as a whole and all of its major constituents are evolving, and we now have a fairly complete and consistent picture of these processes that is based on the objective evidence from observations and the laws of physics. The goal of this class is both to learn about the fascinating objects and phenomena that populate the universe, and to understand how we know all that.